1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wireless communication systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a framework for agile mobile applications.
2. Background Art
Today, mobile communications, enabled by mobile telecommunications networks for example, play a prevalent role in our lives. As a result, technologies for enabling computing applications on personal mobile devices continue to advance.
At the same time, remote sensing using wireless sensor networks (WSNs) introduces powerful means for facilitating a variety of tasks including, among many others, disaster relief, environmental sensing, and habitat monitoring.
However, the potentials of remote sensing using WSNs remain confined by the task-specificity and the difficulty of deployment of WSNs. Indeed, not only is a WSN designed according to a specific sensing task that it is to perform, but it also requires ample time for deployment and configuration.
In contrast, personal mobile devices such as mobile phones, for example, enjoy high levels of penetration and have powerful platforms capable of supporting a variety of applications. This makes personal mobile devices very attractive for playing a remote sensing and reporting role.
What is needed, however, is a framework for enabling the usage of mobile devices such as mobile phones, for example, in this remote sensing and reporting role. This includes means for rapidly generating reporting applications, means for rapidly deploying these reporting applications onto mobiles devices, and means for collecting data from the mobile devices.